"When I was growing up, I hated Montreal. Always." So spoke Acton, the centre playing between Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur his first three full seasons in the NHL (1980-83) for the Montreal Canadiens. He started on a line with Mario Tremblay and Yvon Lambert, but his feistiness, skill on the faceoff, and consistency got him promoted to the number one line in no time.

But early the following season, he was traded to Minnesota, one of the weaker teams in the league at the time, and Acton felt betrayed. One of the best faceoff men in the game, it was his competitiveness during the 1981 playoffs, a loss to the up-and-coming Edmonton Oilers, that eventually got him a Stanley Cup ring with Wayne Gretzky's team a few years later.

Sure enough, midway through the '87-'88 season, Sather was able to acquire him from the North Stars, and that spring the team won its fourth Cup in five years. The Oilers traded him to Philadelphia midway through the following season, and that summer Acton was involved in one of the strangest deals in league history. The Flyers sent him to Winnipeg, and then five days later the Jets sent him back to Philadelphia. In all, he played more than 1,000 NHL games and represented Canada three times at the World Championships. After retiring, he became an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2000-01.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1974-75

Wexford Raiders

ON-Jr.A

43

23

29

52

46

1975-76

Peterborough Petes

OMJHL

35

9

17

26

30

1976-77

Peterborough Petes

OMJHL

65

52

69

121

93

4

1

4

5

6

1977-78

Peterborough Petes

OMJHL

68

42

86

128

52

21

10

8

18

16

1977-78

Peterborough Petes

M-Cup

3

0

1

1

0

1978-79

Nova Scotia Voyageurs

AHL

79

15

26

41

22

10

4

2

6

4

1979-80

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

2

0

1

1

0

0

1979-80

Nova Scotia Voyageurs

AHL

75

45

53

98

38

6

1

2

3

8

1980-81

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

61

15

24

39

74

+5

2

0

0

0

6

1981-82

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

78

36

52

88

88

+48

5

0

4

4

16

1982-83

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

78

24

26

50

63

-6

3

0

0

0

0

1983-84

Montreal Canadiens

NHL

9

3

7

10

4

-5

1983-84

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

62

17

38

55

60

+2

15

4

7

11

12

1984-85

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

78

20

38

58

90

-3

9

4

4

8

6

1985-86

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

79

26

32

58

100

-11

5

0

3

3

6

1985-86

Canada

WEC-A

10

3

0

3

2

1986-87

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

78

16

29

45

56

-15

1987-88

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

46

8

11

19

74

-9

1987-88

Edmonton Oilers

NHL

26

3

6

9

21

-10

7

2

0

2

16

1988-89

Edmonton Oilers

NHL

46

11

15

26

47

+9

1988-89

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

25

3

10

13

64

+1

16

2

3

5

18

1989-90

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

69

13

14

27

80

-2

1989-90

Canada

WEC-A

10

2

0

2

0

1990-91

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

76

14

23

37

131

-9

1991-92

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

50

7

10

17

98

-4

1991-92

Canada

WC-A

6

1

0

1

2

1992-93

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

83

8

15

23

51

-10

1993-94

Washington Capitals

NHL

6

0

0

0

21

-4

1993-94

New York Islanders

NHL

71

2

7

9

50

-1

4

0

0

0

8

1994-95

Hershey Bears

AHL

12

5

7

12

58

NHL Totals

1023

226

358

584

1172

66

12

21

33

88

AHL Second All-Star Team (1980)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1982)

Traded to Minnesota by Montreal with Mark Napier and Toronto's 3rd round choice (previously acquired, Minnesota selected Ken Hodge Jr.) in 1984 Entry Draft for Bobby Smith, October 28, 1983. Traded to Edmonton by Minnesota for Moe Mantha, January 22, 1988. Traded to Philadelphia by Edmonton with Edmonton's 6th round choice (Dmitry Yushkevich) in 1991 Entry Draft for Dave Brown, February 7, 1989. Traded to Winnipeg by Philadelphia with Pete Peeters for future considerations, September 28, 1989. Traded to Philadelphia by Winnipeg with Pete Peeters for Toronto's 5th round choice (previously acquired, Winnipeg selected Juha Ylonen) in 1991 Entry Draft and the cancellation of future considerations owed Philadelphia from the Shawn Cronin trade, October 3, 1989. Signed as a free agent by Washington, July 27, 1993. Claimed on waivers by NY Islanders from Washington, October 22, 1993.